Fears of a looming market bubble have returned as stock prices climb and artificial intelligence spending accelerates, but several leading economists argue that the broader economic picture remains more stable than the headlines suggest. From Wall Street valuations to U.S. growth and global resilience, their message is consistent: conditions look stretched in places, but not fundamentally broken.

Wintermute founder Evgeny Gaevoy offered a blunt assessment of crypto’s current condition on Wednesday, arguing that the industry has stalled on substance even as speculation continues to dominate attention.

Coinmarketcap’s latest Proof of Reserves report shows Binance holding an overwhelming lead in exchange reserves, showcasing sharp differences in scale, liquidity, and asset strategies across major crypto platforms.

Two rival prediction markets took their competition offline and into the checkout aisle this month, as Polymarket and Kalshi rolled out free-grocery stunts in New York City that blended viral marketing, civic signaling, and a not-so-subtle flex at a moment when food prices — and regulatory pressure — are both uncomfortably high.

Ethereum endured its sharpest decline of the year, losing $100 billion in market value and dropping nearly 27% in a week, with prices hitting $2,107, the lowest since May 2025.

Bitcoin fell below $73,000 for the second straight day, extending a volatile week in which it lost nearly 18% of its value and erased about $500 billion from its market cap since mid‑January.

The U.S. stock market is having an identity crisis, torn between the promise of blockbuster earnings and the panic over an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble.

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On Wednesday, XRP spot values traded in a tight $1.53 to $1.62 range over the past 24 hours and was last seen at $1.56 at press time on Feb. 4, as derivatives data signaled a market growing more selective rather than outright confident.

Vitalik Buterin is openly challenging long-held assumptions about Ethereum’s layer-two ( L2) strategy, arguing that the original vision for L2s no longer fits a network where the base layer itself is scaling rapidly.

Bitcoin rebounded from recent lows after U.S. lawmakers ended the government shutdown, but lingering fiscal deadlines and cautious derivatives positioning suggest crypto markets remain on edge.

Crypto ETF flows diverged sharply as bitcoin products faced heavy redemptions, while ether, XRP, and solana managed to attract fresh capital. The split highlighted selective risk-taking as February’s early momentum cooled.

Bitcoin’s price stands at $76,065 on Feb. 4, 2026 at 8 a.m. EST, capping a dramatic 24-hour range between $72,863 and $79,113. Its market capitalization hovered at $1.51 trillion, with $74.04 billion in trading volume keeping the digital pulse fast and furious. But while price action hinted at recovery, the technical picture tells a more tangled tale — one where bears still whisper from the shadows.

Bed Bath & Beyond signs agreement to acquire Tokens.com to build a unified platform for tokenized real‑world asset finance and liquidity.

Tether open‑sources Mining OS and a Mining SDK to provide scalable, production‑ready tools for bitcoin mining operations.